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Overflow at Lift Station 2 traced to generator low oil; town filed report with IDEM
Summary
A June 18 overflow at Lift Station 2 occurred after the station’s generator shut down from a low-oil condition; staff hooked up a mobile generator, reported the event and cleanup to IDEM, and are pursuing repairs and an automatic oiler to prevent recurrence.
An overflow at Burns Harbor’s Lift Station 2 on June 18 followed a severe storm that left parts of town without power, town staff reported at the utility board meeting. A resident alerted staff about a possible overflow; crews arrived and connected a mobile generator to lower levels and stop the overflow.
Staff investigating the incident found the station’s standby generator had triggered a low-oil-pressure shutdown and later had an empty dipstick; the oil filter appeared dated 2022 and the battery dated 2017. Crews changed oil and installed a new oil filter; the town’s vendor inspected the generator and discussed installing an automatic oiler system for extended run times.
"We hooked up the mobile generator, brought the levels back down," Brandon said, describing the immediate response. He told the board the team rinsed the station, prepared a report and forwarded it to Global to file with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). Staff said the overflow lasted roughly 20–30 minutes before the mobile generator restored safe levels and that they arrived within about 120 minutes of the resident’s notice.
Board members pressed for equipment and preventive steps: replacing old filters and batteries, adding an automatic oiler or similar device for long-run generator duty, stocking spare fuses and motor starters, and servicing portable generators that were used for three days during the outage.
The board was told that the station’s generator failure prevented automated alarm calls from being sent (the unit’s low-oil sensor also prevented a call), which highlights the operational need for the cellular call-box replacement bought earlier in the meeting. Staff said they will continue to document repairs, pursue parts quotes and report back to the board.
